Simona Halep progressed to her first final of 2021 as she thrashed Marta Kostyuk to reach the showpiece at the Transylvania Open.

Halep has now reached a WTA final in 12 consecutive seasons after easing to a 6-0 6-1 victory over her teenage opponent.

The two-time grand slam champion faced Kostyuk at Indian Wells three weeks ago and was forced to come from a break down in the first set before prevailing in straight sets.

No such recovery effort was required in Cluj, with Halep progressing to her third final in Romania having twice won the Bucharest Open.

"I really wanted to play the final here. It's a home tournament and always when I come here, I feel great," Halep said. 

"I'm really happy, motivated and I'm looking forward to playing the final tomorrow.

"I knew that I had to play a little bit faster, more aggressive and to open the court a little bit more. There [at Indian Wells], she didn't miss very much as she did today, but I think I took the ball faster and quicker, and the serve helped me today."

"I'm just trying to give my best, trying to be aggressive and enjoy. When I smile inside, it looks better outside. I have the whole country with me when I play at home, so that's why I'm motivated, that's why I feel safe and strong on the court, and I always want to play my best.

"I won twice in Bucharest and, hopefully, tomorrow's the lucky three, but if not, it's still a good result and it's good to be home." 

Halep is unlikely to have it so easy in the final, which sees her face the in-form Anett Kontaveit, who will have added motivation on Sunday.

Kontaveit needed just over an hour to defeat Rebecca Peterson 6-3 6-2, her 25th win in her last 27 matches.

Victory over Halep would see Kontaveit beat Ons Jabeur to the eighth and final spot at the WTA Finals in Guadalajara. However, Halep has won all three of their previous meetings.

At the Courmayeur Open, Clara Tauson will face Donna Vekic in the final after they overcame Liudmila Samsonova and Jasmine Paolini respectively.

Frances Tiafoe will face Alexander Zverev in the Vienna Open final after storming back from the brink of defeat to beat Jannik Sinner.

Sinner was on the cusp of another final after his triumph in Antwerp last weekend when he led 5-2 in the second set, but qualifier Tiafoe roared back to win 3-6 7-5 6-2 on Saturday.

Italian Sinner had moved into the last qualifying position for the ATP Finals by beating Casper Ruud to reach the semi-finals in the Austrian capital and appeared destined to extending his winning run.

The 49-ranked Tiafoe had other ideas, winning five games in a row to force a deciding set.

Tiafoe maintained his momentum, breaking twice in the final set to complete an astonishing comeback and leave seventh seed Sinner shellshocked.

Second seed Zverev earlier marched into his fifth tour-level championship match of the season with a 6-3 6-3 defeat of Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz.

Zverev, who this week secured a 50th tour-level win of the season and a 300th of his career, needed only 68 minutes to knock Alcaraz out.

The German said: "I finally found my rhythm from the baseline because I was really struggling.

"I didn't feel the ball well and I spent some time on the court after the match yesterday and warmed up for an hour and a half before the match today and I finally got it."

Marin Cilic and Taylor Fritz will do battle in the St Petersburg Open final following contrasting wins over Botic Van de Zandschulp and Jan-Lennard Struff respectively.

Cilic did not face a break point in a 6-3 6-3 victory over Dutchman van de Zandschulp, while fought back to defeat Jan-Lennard Struff 5-7 6-1 6-3.

LeBron James praised Evan Mobley after facing the Cleveland Cavaliers rookie for the first time but said it was "getting more weird by the day" playing his son's former opponent.

James, back from an ankle injury, marked the 18th anniversary of his NBA debut with a game-high 26 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' 113-101 win on Friday. Mobley, who led the Cavs with 23 points, is only 20 years old.

Indeed, LeBron's previous experience of this year's third overall draft pick was seeing Mobley take on Bronny James in high school.

Mobley then spent a single season at USC but has settled quickly in his rookie year in the NBA.

Friday's performance, in his sixth game, brought his most points so far, along with six rebounds, three assists, two steals and, for the second game running, zero turnovers.

With double-figure points in every game and two double-doubles already, Mobley is averaging 15.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.7 blocks, 1.3 steals and 1.3 turnovers for the 3-3 Cavs.

James, who was a first overall pick for Cleveland in 2003, winning a single title in two spells with the team, said of Mobley: "He is going to be a damn good basketball player in this league.

"It's so crazy, because he was just playing against my son a couple of years ago. It's weird, and it's getting more weird by the day. He's playing against my son in the playoffs two years ago, and obviously we saw what he did in the tournament, just electrifying.

"They've got a good one. Cleveland has a good one. They've done a great job over the years in the draft, I'll say."

James was returning after two games out due to soreness to the same ankle he injured last year as he was restricted to a career-low 42.9 per cent of possible minutes in the regular season.

"I can definitely feel it a little bit right now, but that's just the adrenaline wearing off," he said. "It feels a lot better post-game today than it did post-game Sunday when we played Memphis."

James linked up effectively with Russell Westbrook, with three of the point guard's five assists coming from passes to the four-time MVP. They have now combined seven times for the year, with James the scorer each time.

Westbrook is having to adjust in LA. His career usage rate is 33.6 per cent (since the statistic was tracked in 2014-15), peaking with 41.7 per cent in 2016-17, but has reached a new low this year with 28.4 per cent, sharing the ball with two superstars in James and Anthony Davis.

James praised his new team-mate's early work, though, saying: "It's all about progressing and understanding the playmaker that you're playing with, understanding his vision, his awareness.

"I don't think he gets enough credit for his passing ability, being able to see plays before they happen. For me, as a receiver, it's my job to be in a position where the quarterback can just make a pass and I've got to go get it.

"Running the lane with Russ, he's usually out in front of the pack, because of his pace and his intensity, but when you run with him, you're rewarded."

James Harden has reiterated patience is required for him to return to his point-scoring best despite a season-high 29 points in the Brooklyn Nets' 105-98 win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday.

Harden had only averaged 16.6 points across the first five games of the new season as he struggled in his recovery from a hamstring injury as well as adapting to the NBA's new officiating rules which have impacted his ability to draw fouls.

The 32-year-old guard had a season-high 20 points in those five games but he blew that out of the water with 21 by half-time in Friday's win over the Pacers.

Harden finished with 29 points, including three from six from beyond the arc and 16 points from the free-throw line.

"It wasn't 30, obviously," Harden said during a post-game news conference. "I keep saying it - every single game, I feel good, I feel better today, I continue to work on off days and non-game days, and on game days continue to be aggressive, get to the basket and shoot my shots.

"Nothing's gonna change. Eventually things are gonna happen where it's consistent and I'm up there playing like myself."

Harden's 19 free-throw attempts were the most he has had since moving to the Nets and usurped his season total in one game.

"It was just me being aggressive," Harden said. "The first couple of games I wasn't aggressive. I was aggressive in spurts, but just trying to be aggressive for four quarters.

"I had that burst, that speed of getting to my spots, whether I was getting to the basket or shooting my shots. I felt pretty good out there for an entire game."

Harden and Kevin Durant combined for 39 points in the first half, which is the most together since becoming team-mates after the former's trade from the Houston Rockets in January.

Durant finished with 22 points, along with 11 rebounds and seven assists, with LaMarcus Aldridge reached 20,000 career NBA points with his 21 off the bench.

Aldridge had joined the Nets in March but retired in April after citing health concerns from an irregular heartbeat before he received medical clearance to return this season.

"It feels good, man," Aldridge said. "A true blessing. Definitely didn't think it was going to happen after what happened last year.

"Stuck with it, fall back and definitely felt good to get it done and be back out there. Just feel blessed."

Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker has defended his decision to pull rookie pitcher Ian Anderson after five innings on a no-hitter in their 2-0 World Series Game 3 win over the Houston Astros on Friday.

Anderson tossed down four strikeouts across five no-hit innings before Snitker opted to pull him, rotating his bullpen over the next four inning with A.J. Minter taking over in the sixth inning.

Atlanta were leading 1-0 after Austin Riley's third-inning RBI single, when Snitker pulled Anderson, with Travis d'Arnaud adding an insurance solo home run in the eighth inning to help them to a 2-1 series lead.

The Braves combined for seven no-hit innings, which was the second longest no-hit bid in a World Series game since Don Larsen's perfect game in 1956. 

Right-hander Anderson was just the second rookie to toss at least five no-hit innings in a World Series game but was denied a bid at a no-hitter.

"He'd thrown a lot of pitches at the top half of that lineup," Snitker said during his post-game news conference.

"Getting ready to go back out when he did, I thought in the fourth inning he had to really work to get through that. He had a really good fifth inning. Then I told him, and he was like 'are you sure, are you sure?'. I was like, 'Ian I'm going with my gut'."

Anderson admitted he wanted to continue but understood Snitker's decision, praising the Braves' bull pen.

"You want the chance to compete especially on the biggest stage like this is," Anderson said.

"I knew he wasn’t going to budge. It's hard to, you've got guys like [Tyler] Matzek, Minter and Luke [Jackson] and Will [Smith] at the back end coming in. You can't blame him for going to those guys."

Matzek, who allowed the first hit in the eighth inning, revealed that neither Minter or Jackson realised they were bidding for a no-no.

"Luke Jackson didn't know. Minter didn't know," he said. "After I got through my inning, they went up said and 'hey did you know you gave up the first hit' and I said 'yeah I did know, I paid attention'. They were like 'oh, I just wanted to come in and get out'.

"Our job stayed the same. It's to go out there and get the three outs in your assignment and get off the field and let the next guy do his job. We're just focused on doing that and it worked out."

The two hits conceded were the fewest ever conceded in a World Series game by a team that used five pitchers.

Astros manager Dusty Baker backed his side to respond after being shut out in Game 3, ending with only two hits for the game.

"Nobody can hit all the time," Baker said. "The more those guys get out, the more they're one at-bat away from a hot streak. That's how hitters think."

LeBron James returned from injury with 26 points as the Los Angeles Lakers overcame a slow first half to defeat his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, 113-101 on Friday.

James had missed the Lakers' past two games with a sore ankle but marked his return by top scoring, adding eight assists and three rebounds.

The four-time MVP only shot 10 from 22 from the field and one from 10 from three-point range, draining a three-quarter time buzzer beater from almost halfway.

Carmelo Anthony added 24 points off the bench for the Lakers while Anthony Davis had 15 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

The Cavs, who have beaten contenders the Atlanta Hawks, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers this season, led by as much as 11 points at one stage, including holding a one-point lead into the fourth quarter.

James played a lead role in steadying the ship for the Lakers, who scored 25-16 in the fourth quarter to win by 12 points and improve their record to 3-3.

Harden finds his scoring touch

James Harden re-discovered some form with a season-high 29 points, including 21 in the first half, in the Brooklyn Nets' 105-98 win over the Indiana Pacers. LaMarcus Aldridge added 21 points off the bench to reach 20,000 career NBA points, while Kevin Durant dominated with 22 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

Jimmy Butler starred with 32 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while Bam Adebayo added 26 points and 19 rebounds as the Miami Heat downed the in-form Charlotte Hornets 114-99.

Damian Lillard hit five from seven three-pointers, finishing with 25 points as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 111-92. Paul George finished with 42 points for the Clippers, who are 1-3.

Doncic wayward as Mavs routed

Luka Doncic had an off-night, with 16 points, shooting five from 18 from the field as the Dallas Mavericks were brushed aside 106-75 by the Denver Nuggets.

Hornets guard LaMelo Ball's bright start to the season has stalled, managing only six points in their loss to the Heat, shooting none from five from beyond the arc.

Rookie pitcher Ian Anderson tossed down five no-hit frames as the Atlanta Braves strangled the Houston Astros 2-0 to win Game 3 and claim a 2-1 lead in the World Series on Friday.

The Astros failed to register one hit until the eighth inning, finishing the game with only two as Austin Riley's third-inning RBI double and Travis d'Arnaud's eighth-inning solo home run earned Atlanta the win.

The Braves' defensive performance was the key, keeping the Astros scoreless led by Anderson across five innings which included four strikeouts, with A.J. Minter, Luke Jackson, Tyler Matzek and Will Smith all playing their roles across an inning each on the hill.

Anderson becomes just the second rookie to toss at least five no-hit innings in a World Series game. Atlanta becomes the first team to not allow a hit through seven innings of a World Series game since the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 in 1967.

Eddie Rosario, who brought up his 21st hit of the postseason, scored from Riley's third-inning RBI double to give Atlanta the advantage.

The strong defensive game continued, with Astros rookie starter Luis Garcia having six strikeouts across three and two-third frames, while Kyle Tucker produced a spectacular outfield diving catch in the sixth inning.

The Braves took a combined no-no to the eighth inning before Aledmys Diaz knocked a single to left field to end the bid, but the Astros could not capitalise.

Braves catcher d'Arnaud added insurance as he registered home runs in back-to-back World Series games with his eighth-inning solo blast.

The winner of Game 3 in the World Series has gone on to win it all in 39 of last 60 series after being tied at 1-1, including 13 of last 17 instances.

Astros at Braves

Houston will look to level the World Series when they meet again at Truist Park on Saturday.

LeBron James will return after two games out with an ankle issue when the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.

Four-time NBA MVP James started the Lakers' first three games of the season, averaging 26.0 points in 38.0 minutes as his team made a rocky 1-2 start.

The 36-year-old injured his ankle in the Lakers' first win of the season against the Memphis Grizzlies and missed their subsequent games with the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, the latter which they lost by eight points after leading by 26 in the first half.

James was listed in the Lakers' starting line-up alongside Anthony Davis, who picked up a knee worry against the Spurs before playing 37 minutes and scoring 30 points against OKC.

Russell Westbrook, who had a triple-double but also 10 turnovers before being ejected against the Thunder, as well as Kurt Bazemore and DeAndre Jordan round out the Lakers' starting five.

James played just 45 games in the 2020-21 season as the Lakers failed to build on their 2020 Finals success with a first round playoffs exit to the Phoenix Suns.

The veteran forward played just 42.9 per cent of possible minutes for the Lakers in the regular season last year, the lowest rate of his career and only the second season in which he has dipped below the halfway mark – also 48.9 per cent in 2018-19, his first season as a Laker.

Emma Raducanu's hopes of facing idol Simona Halep in the semi-finals of the Transylvania Open were brutally ended by a crushing defeat to Marta Kostyuk on Friday.

US Open champion Raducanu claimed her first ever regular WTA Tour win in Cluj earlier this week, with the 18-year-old keen to impress in the homeland of her father, but Kostyuk denied her the chance of a dream last-four clash with Halep.

The 19-year-old Ukrainian swept Raducanu aside in just 57 minutes, winning 6-2 6-1 as Kostyuk furthered her own burgeoning reputation in the game by reaching a third semi-final of the year.

Raducanu proved her own worst enemy, her 41 unforced errors more than double Kostyuk's 16, with the latter feeling confident as early as the first game when two double faults helped her break the Briton's serve.

"I don't know how I won the first game, I think that's where everything started," Kostyuk said. "I somehow won that game and I gained this confidence, like I'm not going to lose this match.

"After that, by the fifth game maybe, I figured out how to play her – today. Maybe next time I play it's going to be different tactics."

Top seed Halep enjoyed a similarly straightforward victory as she lost just two games en route to a 6-1 6-1 win over Romanian compatriot Jaqueline Cristian, a particularly impressive feat given she had been suffering with a back injury this week.

That success preserved Halep's 100 per cent record against fellow Romanians.

On the other side of the draw, second seed Anett Kontaveit was also an impressive winner as she disposed of Anhelina Kalinina 6-1 6-3 in just over an hour. Kontaveit has won 24 of her last 26 matches and will be the firm favourite against unseeded Rebecca Peterson, who beat Lesia Tsurenko 6-2 3-6 6-3.

At the Courmayeur Open in Italy, third seed Liudmila Samsonova cruised into the semis thanks to a swift 6-1 6-2 demolition of Anna Kalinskaya. She will meet Clara Tauson – seeded fifth – after the Dane came through a more gruelling 3-6 6-4 6-2 win over Ann Li.

The other semi will be contested by Donna Vekic and Jasmine Paolini, who were straight-sets winners over Wang Xinyu and Dayana Yastremska, respectively.

Top seed Andrey Rublev crashed out of the St Petersburg Open after a straight-sets defeat by Dutch qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp in the quarter-finals.

A recent US Open quarter-finalist, world number 69 Van de Zandschlup claimed the first top-10 win of his career on Friday.

The 26-year-old also advanced to the semi-finals of an ATP event for the first time.

There, he will face 2011 champion Marin Cilic, who was a 6-4 3-6 6-3 winner over third seed Roberto Bautista Agut.

Denis Shapovalov was another big-name casualty in Russia, the second seed going down 4-6 3-6 against world number 53 Jan-Lennard Struff.

Although, there were better fortunes for fifth seed Taylor Fritz. The Indian Wells semi-finalist is yet to drop a set this week after prevailing 6-4 6-2 against John Millman.

Elsewhere, Matteo Berrettini was the victim of another upset at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

The Wimbledon champion went down 1-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-7 (5-7) following a two-hour 40-minute battle with Carlos Alcaraz.

Reaching his first ATP 500 semi-final, the Spanish teenager claimed another big scalp having defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas at Flushing Meadows last month.

However, second seed Alexander Zverev remained on course for a fifth title of the season, as he claimed his 300th tour-level win.

The Australian Open finalist beat Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4 3-6 6-3, avenging his fourth-round defeat by the Canadian at Wimbledon in July.

The Philadelphia 76ers will not have fond memories of playing the Atlanta Hawks as the two teams head into their first matchup of 2021-22 with 3-2 records.

The 76ers' playoff run last year ended against Atlanta in a Game 7 defeat at Wells Fargo Center.

That was a hugely damaging series for Philly, not only bringing their season to a close but also increasing the attention on Ben Simmons' below-par displays.

Simmons averaged just 9.9 points against the Hawks and did not attempt a single fourth-quarter field goal from Game 4 onwards. He has since pushed for a move, but the Sixers cannot find a trade partner.

The 76ers are without Simmons so far this year but will hope Atlanta's return to Philadelphia can provide the motivation required to truly kickstart their season.

PIVOTAL PERFORMERS

Philadelphia 76ers – Tyrese Maxey

Without Simmons, second-year point guard Maxey has come into the lineup. The 76ers have played the same starting five in each game so far this season, with Maxey for Simmons the only change from last year's most-used lineup.

Maxey is not exactly a like-for-like replacement for Simmons, though. For all his faults, the wantaway three-time All-Star is an elite defensive player – averaging 1.6 steals, 0.6 blocks and 5.6 defensive rebounds last year – and a far more comfortable facilitator than Maxey, who has 2.1 assists per game for his career.

But the Sixers' 2020 first-round pick is still just 20 and acknowledges he is learning on the job.

"It's a work in progress," he said after 16 points, six assists, six rebounds and four turnovers against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday. "It's the fifth game, stuff is slowing down, you figure out which guys want the ball, try to find switches or advantages that work for us.

"It's getting a lot better. The coaching staff and my team-mates have been great. They've been helping me."

And perhaps against Atlanta, a team who have benefited from Simmons' reluctance to shoot from deep, Maxey's superior shot could prove useful. He is 45.9 per cent from the midrange and 30.0 per cent from three for his career versus Simmons' 37.6 per cent and 14.7 per cent.

Atlanta Hawks – Trae Young

Two years older than Maxey, the Hawks' point guard Young is far more established both at the position and in the league. He averaged 29.0 points and 10.9 assists against the 76ers in the playoffs.

That postseason run seemingly saw Young move to another level as one of the NBA's leading young players, but this season has not so far gone entirely to plan.

His 24.2 points per game ranked 17th in the league through Thursday's games, having last year finished 14th in that regard (25.3 ppg), yet the former fifth overall pick feels those numbers should have been boosted by more generous officiating.

Young became the latest player to complain about the NBA's "interpretive change in the officiating of overt, abrupt or abnormal non-basketball moves by offensive players with the ball in an effort to draw fouls" after a loss to the Washington Wizards.

He is shooting a career-best 95.5 per cent from the foul line but has attempted only 4.4 field goals per game. Having averaged 9.9 attempts per game against Philly, Saturday's opponents know how crucial it is those marginal calls continue to go against him.

KEY BATTLE – Can Collins continue to impress against Embiid?

The battle of the big men should be worth watching on Saturday, with John Collins surely meeting his match in the form of 76ers superstar Joel Embiid, one of the league's best two-way centers.

The Hawks have relied on dominating during Collins' minutes so far this season, with his plus/minus a team-leading 8.4 and his net rating an impressive 29.3.

The six-foot-nine center also has 12 dunks, but Embiid is ticking along at 1.8 blocks per game and there could be fireworks if Collins attempts to take on his direct opponent.

HEAD TO HEAD

Atlanta might have won the game that mattered most, but they and the 76ers split the series 5-5 across the regular season and postseason last year.

The Sixers have the edge in the all-time regular season record, leading 196-191, although the Hawks closed that gap considerably during 'The Process' era, having an 18-9 advantage since the start of the 2013-14 campaign.

Ricky Hatton has urged Tyson Fury to forget about a potential fight with Anthony Joshua and retire from the sport immediately.

Fury ended a thrilling trilogy against Deontay Wilder this month as he dropped the American in the 11th round in an all-time classic in Las Vegas.

The potential of an all-British showdown was on the cards next for the 'Gypsy King', however, those plans were put on hold when Joshua lost his WBA, WBO and IBF titles to Oleksandr Usyk.

Joshua's manager Eddie Hearn confirmed there would be a subsequent rematch between the 32-year-old and the Ukrainian, set for early 2022 – further delaying a potential bout for Fury with either of the pair.

Meanwhile, Fury is likely to face Dillian Whyte – who pulled out of a clash with Otto Wallin in October – before meeting with the winner of the rematch between Joshua and Usyk.

However, former boxer Hatton has advised Fury to hang up his gloves as he implores the 33-year-old to stop waiting for Joshua.

"Tyson's proved himself," Hatton told Sportsmail. "He's had that trilogy with Wilder, he beat Wladimir Klitschko.

"Tyson's not like AJ; he's suffered from depression, drinks and drugs and all he now wants is the defining fights and to get out the game.

"Let's have it right, if Tyson wants to retire he's got nothing more to prove. The only thing that Tyson wants to know in his own mind, just like AJ does, is who the best out of he and AJ is.

"But Tyson can't wait another two years while he fights him and he fights him, he'll want to be in and out now.

"It's a shame if the AJ fight doesn't happen, and if it does it has to happen quickly, because Tyson's ready for hanging up his gloves now.

"As his friend, I want him to hang them up – he's got nothing left to prove."

Fury's promoters Frank Warren and Bob Arum had implored Joshua to step down to allow for an undisputed match-up between the division's top two, though Hearn quickly dismissed those claims.

Hatton, who retired in 2011 at the age of 32, agrees with Warren and Arum's plan while bemoaning that the two top fighters cannot face off yet.

"There's only one fight on Tyson's mind, which is the AJ fight," he continued. "But if I could rule boxing, I would let Tyson fight Usyk, because at the end of the day they’re the top two. I'd let AJ have a warm-up fight and then fight the winner.

"But this is what's ruining boxing: it should be Tyson, you fight your fight and AJ you fight yours and the winner will box each other.

"But no, you've then got to give a rematch, maybe even two rematches.

"It's ruining the game. Wilder should never have got a third fight; if he'd put in a fantastic performance in the second, then he gets the rematch. It should be based on performance.

"It puts the main fights we want on the back burner, just because of contract issues. It's a nonsense.

"All it needs, especially in heavyweight boxing, is one punch, one decision to change things and then fights won't get made for another three years."